This invention relates generally to systems and methods used to identify and track the material used for each pipe of a pipeline. More specifically, the invention relates to non-destructive, on-site (in situ) systems and methods used to identify the material characteristics of the pipe.
Federal regulations require pipeline operators to identify and track the material used for each pipe which makes up their respective pipelines. The only way of doing this with any degree of certainty is to tap into the pipe and send the resulting coupon to a lab for analysis. The coupon is machined to ASTM standard specification and then pull-tested until yield (i.e., material memory is lost, coupon is elongated and cannot return to original size) and then beyond yield until failure occurs to determine tensile strength (see ASTM E8 tensile testing method). The current method is time consuming, costly, damages the pipe (which then must be repaired or fitted with a closure fitting), and is limited in that each pipe of the pipeline cannot be tested. Not only is there no non-destructive material identification system or method available, operators expect future regulations to require more precise material identification methods and shorter timelines for producing that material identification.